Just when people thought they could cancel their HBO Go accounts after “Game of Thrones” ended, HBO released the first trailer for their upcoming series “Watchmen” on May 8. The series is based on the acclaimed graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The graphic novel was so groundbreaking that it currently resides on Time Magazine’s list of the 100 best novels published since 1923.

For many years an adaptation was planned but constantly scrapped due to the source material being considered unfilmable until Zack Snyder directed his adaptation of “Watchmen” in 2009. Other adaptations have included a motion comic and an upcoming animated adaptation. What makes this upcoming series different is how it is not an adaptation of the graphic novel but a sequel to it.

The setting of the show will take place in an alternate reality where superheroes in the United States changed history as we know it including the United States winning the Vietnam War with the assistance of superheroes. The graphic novel, which the show serves as a sequel, took place in 1985 where the United States and the U.S.S.R. were on the brink of nuclear war as a group of superheroes including Rorschach and Ozymandias uncovered a conspiracy.

Being a teaser trailer, not much is given away. All that is shown is a group of people dressed like the vigilante Rorschach from the original graphic novel and the constant use of the phrase “tick tock.” Also seen is the return of Ozymandias, played by Jeremy Irons, a superhero from the events of “Watchmen.” Given Irons’ older age as opposed to the original, more youthful Ozymandias, it’s safe to assume that the series takes place in the present day of this world.

The series will also introduce a star studded cast playing a new breed of superheroes including Oscar-winner Regina King and Tim Blake Nelson. The series will also incorporate two characters from “The Doomsday Clock,” a comic sequel to “Watchmen,” Mime and Marionette, played by Tom Mison and Sara Vickers.

The creator of the show, Damon Lindelof, has had a promising career by co-creating “Lost” and writing the films “Prometheus” and “Star Trek: Into Darkness” so this series has a lot going for it. However, it must tread lightly as it is a sequel to one of the finest pieces of comic art ever made. But if anyone can make this series good, it’s HBO.